In their prison cell, MK is pacing around in panic while Macaque tried pulling Monkey King's new fillet out of him. But to no prevail. "This is bad, this bad. What are we going to do!? We're in jail, I can't do jail time!"
"MK..."
"And what about Monkey King? I can't believe that they would do this to him again!"
"MK..."
"What are we going to do, what are we gonna do!"
"Qi Xiaotian!" Macaque hollered in his parent voice, MK stopped in her tracks and turned to face him. He gestured to what her freaking out was doing, MK's face softened as she sees Macaque holding his trembling whimpering mate in his arms.
Her freaking out definitely wasn't helping.
"Peaches, look at me, you're going to be fine, you're okay, I promise." Macaque cupped his cheeks to look up at him, Wukong's whimpering slowly ceased. The shadow demon wiped away incoming tears and placed his forehead onto his.
"I don't get it, didn't your old master put one of these on you originally? MK asked her mentor.
"Yeah, but this one's somehow tighter." Wukong said, slightly annoyed. "I really, really didn't wanna wear one of these again."
"Don't worry, we'll find a way to get it off you." MK promised. "Ooh! What if I..." MK summons her staff from her ear to try to break the fillet but she gets launched into a wall. "Ugh, I'm okay!"
Then suddenly Nezha appears on the other side. "Ahem..." he opens the seal of the cell, stepping inside. MK seethed in anger and stepped forward. "I—" he was cut off by a very harsh slap across the face. He winced rubbing the hand print on his cheek.
"HOW COULD YOU! HOW COULD YOU MAKE HIM GO THROUGH THAT TORTURE AGAIN!!"
MK roared, glaring at the celestial, tears brimming in her eyes. Just before she could give him another slap, Macaque tackles her to the ground.
"MK, enough!"
The two wrestle for a bit before he gets up holding her back. MK releases a screech as she swings her staff almost hitting Nezha. Who didn't even flinch, making the young adult even more furious.
"Please, this is... not what I wanted." He says, sounding remorseful as his gaze lingers on the three of them with look of regret towards the circlet wrapped tight around Wukong's head.
Wukong rolls his eyes, "Weren't you meant to be busy guarding the Jade Emperor's power?" He asks. "Don't tell me Daddy Jing took over that job too." He asks, tilting his head slightly before his eyes widen in realization and he points an accusing finger. "You got demoted!"
Nezha makes a noise of frustration as he becomes increasingly agitated with his teasing. "Enough! Someone's trying to destroy the Pillar of Heaven. And my father—"
"Yeah, sorry," MK cuts him off, escaping from the shadow demon's hold with a look of confusion across her face. "But what are the Pillar of Heaven, exactly?"
"If the old legends can be believed, the pillar is a mystic energy that holds back the Primordial Chaos." Nezha explained.
"It's what lets the world be...the world," summarized Wukong. "Legends tells that the universe was born into chaos. Long ago, a sanctuary was constructed. This world, protected from the chaos by the Pillar of Heaven."
"And it looks like someone's trying to break it!" MK declared, finally getting what's the situation.
"Not for the first time," Wukong added, "It was broken once before, chaos poured into the realm. Until the Goddess Nüwa, mended the pillar...with the mystical Five Colored Stones."
